In less than three seconds, Becca Buck plummeted 14 feet down a shiny silver pole, dropping from
the ceiling to just a few inches above the hardwood floor.

She slid with a gymnast’s grace, a daredevil’s flair and the strength to remain tucked into a
ball the whole way down.

“You have to make it look effortless,” the 29-year-old pole-fitness competitor from northern
Cincinnati said, “but it’s really, really hard.”

The move, called a “sad-girl drop,” is one of many gravity-defying stunts that Buck can perform
on the pole. She will show off similar feats at tonight’s Pole Fitness National Championship at the
Arnold Sports Festival. In its first year at the festival, the pole-fitness championship pits 12
regional champions from throughout North America. Athletes will perform a choreographed five-minute
routine to music and will be judged on technicality, artistry and stage presence.

The stage consists of two poles — one static, one capable of spinning — about 10 feet apart.
Contestants are required to divide their performance time among the poles and the floor.

For the Arnold, Buck is the closest thing to a hometown favorite. She trains and teaches pole 90
miles down I-71 at Bella Forza Fitness.

She qualified for the national championship event by winning the Great Midwest Pole Dancing
Competition last summer in Chicago.

With most competitions on the coasts, Buck is thrilled to be competing so close to home. She
expects a large cheering section at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion of more than 20 friends —
wearing matching T-shirts and
I Heart Becca tattoos — to offer encouragement as she flips and flexes.

“Things like the Arnold, as these competitions become bigger, help with the understanding of the
sport,” Buck said. “We’re not in here learning to take our clothes off or booty-shaking. It’s about
the strength and fitness.”

But that’s not to say it isn’t sexy. The competitors are scantily clad, but bare skin helps them
maintain their grip — “Fabric won’t stick to the pole,” Buck said. Some wear high heels while
performing; Buck performs barefoot.

Event organizer Jim Lorimer said pole fitness was added to the local schedule after seeing its
success at Arnold festivals in Spain and Brazil.

“We did have some cautionary concerns,” Lorimer said. “People talk about pole dancing in this
country, but it’s not that. It’s pole fitness.

“There’s real athleticism in what is being done in the competitions, and it’s got a strong
following.”

And it’s popular among more than just competitors. Pole fitness is exploding as a workout among
women.

At least three studios in central Ohio teach pole fitness — including Studio Rouge, which will
lead free 30-minute classes at the Arnold Expo throughout the weekend.

Since the studio opened in Grandview Heights in 2011, owner Carolyn Cull has watched the
perception of the sport change.

“We’re reaching the point where there’s no negative connotation with, ‘Hey, I do pole,’” Cull
said.

Her facility offers more than a dozen pole classes each week, and students progress to different
levels after they complete certain skills.

Because of the versatility of the apparatus (poles range from about 8-to-14 feet high), students
range in age from the early 20s to 60s, she said.

“It’s so much fun,” said Cull, who first tried pole six years ago. “You can easily be consistent
with it, and you can look forward to it. I know myself, I get burned out going to the gym.”

Three years ago, Buck was a baker when she first tried pole fitness.

With her fitness background — she has a bachelor’s degree in exercise science — she meshed with
the sport immediately. She became certified to teach and began to compete. Soon, she closed the
bakery business to pursue pole fitness full time.

Besides teaching 30 classes a month and giving weekly private lessons to eight students, she
practices on the pole five days a week, training mostly at Bella Forza.

She does high- intensity workouts three times a week, takes ballet lessons and works on
flexibility.

She has a pole at home but doesn’t use it often. Her house has low ceilings and breakable
objects.

“I’m 5 foot, 6 inches, but I have long legs,” Buck said.

Creating a competition-ready routine takes about 12 weeks. For her, the biggest challenge is
choreography.

“I use a storytelling method,” Buck said. “I guess I have a very vivid imagination. I come up
with characters for each performance.”

Tonight, she’ll be dressed as a cyborg and will perform to music by an Icelandic rock group. The
routine will feature her signature move: She grabs the bar, pulls her body upside down and extends
her legs parallel to the ground.

“It’s going to be one amazingly theatrical evening,” Cull said. “People are going to be blown
away by the themes of the performances, the costumes, the variety of styles.”